


Urban fantasy: Of Friends and Filming

by Avenger_of_the_porcupines



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Alternate Universe-Youtubers, Fantasy, Gen, Screenplay/Script Format, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22973164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avenger_of_the_porcupines/pseuds/Avenger_of_the_porcupines
Summary: This story was something I got inspired to create as I was watching Bright (2017). I realized I just wanted a modern fantasy story where a bunch of friends got to do fun friend activities, but like they're orcs and elves and things like that. The main characters so far are a group of youtubers, who like to make videos about culture, fashion, welding, things like that.The main characters include:Mul'gash, a 25-year old orc guy who likes to talk about orc culture, and who really likes food!Sybil, a mermaid with a dorky laugh and a love for all forms of magical art.Saida, an elf who enjoys fashion, the definite mom friend.Sasha, a loud dwarf who really loves welding.Through this series I'll be exploring the unique cultures present in their world, and how all these races get along. There's going to be quite a lot of world-building. I'm sick of urban fantasy that only focuses on some world-saving adventure instead of all the interesting cultural stuff!(The format involves me describing their actions like a video description, and then their dialogue.)





	1. Of Friends and Food (The Miscreant Vlog Squad Episode #17)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, if you're reading this, thank you so much! I know it's going to be a weird format, but this was the only way for me to really get my ideas through. I'm working really hard on integrating real-world cultures in, but I'm not perfect, so if you have any ideas for how to better do that I'm all ears! I've been reading a lot on how to properly write a good diverse cast, with proper and respectful representation, so I'm hoping that'll shine through later on.

(The video begins shakily, with the sound of snickering coming behind the camera. It zooms in and out on a large male orc who is currently glaring at the cameraman. They are clearly in a cafeteria, and the table has a large spread of food, including some chicken fingers, fries, a salad, a fish, and various colourful drinks. The orc is clearly Mul’gash, wearing a leather jacket and a light grey Nightbone t-shirt. Next to him is a beautiful mermaid with long silky black hair and golden brown skin. She was smiling, barely concealing her snorting behind a well-manicured hand. She wore a light purple cropped sweatshirt with yoga pants, her stark white fluffy coat falling off her slender shoulders. She’s drinking some banana milk. Her name is Sybil, a prominent artist on vidtube. On Mul’gash’s right is an elf, with tawny skin and soft dark brown curls spilling down her back. She was wearing a cardigan, a black tank top, and black leggings. She was looking away, hiding a soft grin. She’s slowly eating some of her fries, trying not to laugh. It’s Saida, a seamstress on vidtube. The camera is taken by Saida, who turns it around and steadies it to face the cameraman. It’s a dwarf, with pale skin and a bright flush. She’s got long, braided red hair and tears in her eyes, as she bursts into raucous laughter. It’s Sasha, a welder.)

“Aw, come on Sasha, really? I went out of my way to buy you a hamburger, and you betray me like this?”

(Mul’gash slams his head into his arms, resting on the table. He lets out a loud groan, grumbling about stolen fries. Sasha laughs harder.)

“Do you see, dear viewers, what I have to put up with every day? They bully me! Constantly! I’m a growing orc and they constantly eat my food!”

(He’s wailing now. Sasha pats him gently on the back, gifting him some of her fries. As Mul’gash eats them, she takes a sneaky sip of his banana milk.)

“Oh, come on! Sasha’s the only nice one here!”  
“Dude, why don’t you explain to your ‘dear viewers’ just what exactly has lead to this situation?”

(Sybil grins, chuckling and staring directly into the camera. There’s a malicious gleam in her eyes.)

“Well, we came to the Maul to go shopping… Sasha needed some precious metals for her 800 000 subscriber special, and Sybil wanted to take us to get some banana milk, which you guys should try if you’re nearby some time, when I decided I would get some fries and a hamburger. Sasha decided she would eat MY ENTIRE BURGER while I was discussing the drinks with Sybil. Now I have nothing to eat AND no money!”

(Mul’gash pouts, and it’s clear he’s just being dramatic.)

“Dude, I’ll buy you your favorite cookie next time, okay?”  
“Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal!”

(Sasha and Mu’gash shake hands as the video ends.)


	2. Orcs, Clans, Courting, History (ALL ABOUT ORCS episode 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 2! This one is longer, and it's all about some different orc traditions and my world-building for them. Essentially, in this world, the Lord Of The Rings-style orcs were what orcs were like about 3000 years ago. Now, however, they're just like everyone else! I really like the idea of orcs having cool cultural customs, and rich social interactions. I'm also a sucker for stories where a big muscular orc comes by and sweeps their love interest off their feet, but I like stories where consent is really clear and I can't see modern orcs being any different. In this universe, there's been a really long-held set of stereotypes about orcs, stereotypes I based off of most interpretations of orcs. Learn all about them from Mul'gash!
> 
> (P.S, the old world was similar to most DnD campaigns, that's what is meant by "barbarians", as in the class.)

(the video begins with a wide shot, showing a large bedroom with cobblestone walls, wooden floors, and a high ceiling made from dark logs. There is a large light brown wooden bookcase in the left corner, next to a similarly-coloured large desk with multiple huge ink quills, pressed against the railing. The top of what seems to be a wooden spiral staircase is barely visible, showing that the space is an elevated platform. In the foreground is a messy, large bed. Sunlight gently trickles in from behind the camera.)

“Hey, guys! What’s up, it’s me, your favourite orc, Mul’gash!”

(A ginormous orc bounces from behind the camera, landing harshly on the bed. He is a dark green with large tusks topped with gold, showing he’s a blooded member of the Nightbone clan. He’s wearing ripped blue jeans, a black tanktop, and a red and black flannel. His hair is cropped short. He looks about 25.)

“SO, as I’m sure you’re wondering while looking at the title of this video, I will be explaining some interesting orc customs! As you know, because the Ustran first lady is an orc, there will be a lot of questions from the other races. Orcs still have a reputation as being violent barbarians, but this simply isn’t true!“

(He grins, shrugging gently.)

“This is a good opportunity for you non-orcs to really learn about us! I promise it won’t be a lecture about harmful orc stereotypes, though I’ll link some videos from me and some other prominent orc creators on this platform if you’re interested. First of all, if this is your first of my videos, welcome! My name is Mul’gash Nightbone. I’m a member of the Nightbone clan, we’re the clan that’s stationed in the Northern half of Dogborough, the capital of a large country called Ustra. “

(He holds up a large map. It’s labeled “Terra”, as in the name of the planet. On the left is a large landmass stretching almost the entire vertical length of the map. At the top of the landmass, which is called Uyul, is a red-coloured country called “Ustra”. Directly below it is “Acreosil”. On the right side of the map, stretching from close to the middle of Uyul to the right edge of the map, is a large continent called Ohia. There is another continent on the bottom, called Ayith, and one on the top called Crehea.)

“See, right at the top of Uyul is Ustra. That’s my country! Right here, at the bottom right, is my city, Dogborough. My clan takes charge of the northern half. Now, this might sound a bit scary to those of you who don’t know much about Orc culture, but it isn’t a bad thing. Orc clans will ‘take charge’ of a certain amount of territory. All the orcs in that area will be welcomed in, and attempt to become blooded members. See the timestamp at around 10:02 in this video to learn about that, if you know this! But, we don’t only take care of the orcs in the area. We provide community services, like volunteer opportunities, we have a large community centre where anyone can come attend all sorts of arts, education, and activity courses, we have daycares and preschools, but we’re most known for our protection details. We help people who have a fear for their life, or are in danger."

"For example, recently, me and my two friends were looking after this little 5 year old human girl. Her dad was an asshole, and her mother was working full time to pay for their apartment, and she was scared the dad would try and pick her daughter up from preschool. So, she introduced the kid to some of the members of the clan, we have certain people trained for specific scenarios. Me and Thresh and Hern are all good with kids. We’ve been hanging out with the kid, driving her home, making sure she gets some snacks and does her work. These are some of the most important roles for each clan. Of course we work with plenty of shifter packs, covens, you get the idea.”

(Mul’gash smiles wide, before picking up an ornate gold cap, like the ones he’s wearing on his tusks.)

“Now, I’m moving on to some more specific cultural things. Then, I’ll go into some history. First of all, each clan is different, and I’m speaking from my specific clan’s rules. Alright, now, I’m sure you’re wondering just what exactly ‘blooded’ means: a blooding ceremony is a clan initiation. It varies from clan to clan. For my clan, to become blooded, you have to perform some act of bravery. For me, it was standing up against a group of older bullies who were trying to kill this little orc kid. When you submit your act to your clan’s council, they’ll talk over the evidence or talk to you and the witnesses, and they’ll decide whether or not you’re blooded. There’s no time limit or limit to how many times you can try. It can be a little thing, like standing up for yourself against a bully, or something more dangerous. "

"However, there are some rules! You may have heard the term ‘unblooded’. This refers to people who have not yet been blooded, generally children. This does not mean people who are kicked out of the clan! If you break a rule, for example, if you murder someone in an attempt to become blooded, you get your tusks filed down until they’re round. This is called round-toothing, obviously. These kinds of orcs are irredeemable; round-toothing isn’t taken lightly. They’ve done something so horrid that the only punishment is for them to be completely removed from the clan. If they’re seen on clan territory they’ll most likely be arrested for trespassing. Now, back to blooding customs. After you’ve become blooded, you’ll get some sort of tusk jewelry! Once again it will vary from clan to clan, and even person to person, but you can always tell. In my clan, we wear these lovely gold caps,”

(He holds the gold caps up)

“To signify our status. Moving on to some other important cultural things: courting rituals! Yay... romance.”

(He sighs, rolling his eyes dramatically and voice dripping with sarcasm)

“The thing all the old granny orcs always lecture us about. So, our courting rituals aren’t what you think. We don’t walk into your village and pick you up and make you marry us! There are 3 steps. Step 1: Pick the courting target! This involves getting to know them and their interests, going on a few dates, everything like that. At this point, the orc will decide how to best court them. Every courtship is different! If the potential partners are both orcs, there will generally be some sort of strength test to decide who will be the courter and who will be the courtee. Of course, anyone can challenge their orc to this kind of test, but generally the courtee is okay with the orc taking the lead on orcish courting rituals. The partner may do their own rituals at the same time, for more information I’ll leave a link from some of my fave creators of other races explaining various other rituals! Step 2: Gifts, gifts, gifts! These are tailored to the courtee to show the orc really cares and is paying attention, and that they’ll be able to provide. For old-fashioned orcs it’ll be things like a fresh pelt, or some flowers, or something like that. "

" However, there’s a new movement for more personally-made gifts. Thresh made his wife a sword, she’s a dwarf. I had a friend write a song, too! Anyways, step 3: this is the most well-known part, but it’s generally understood to be optional now. The orc will ask the courtee if they have been satisfied with the courtship. If they say yes, the orc will explain the next part of this step. The orc will come by, pick ‘em up and sweep ‘em off their feet, and they’ll walk home! This is generally months and months and months after step 1, and is similar to the human tradition of proposing. Please be aware we ask for consent for the entire thing, and the courtee can opt out! It’s just an old tradition and a lot of orcs think they’re cute stories to tell the family.”

(Mul’gash laughs heartily, and the video cuts briefly before cutting back. He’s now drinking a large glass of water.)

“Alright, now onto some important orc history! Let’s jump right in!”

“A long, long, long, long, long, LONG time ago, when all the races were really separated, orcs were generally barbarians, and blooding rituals involved having to kill an orc from an opposing clan. We would raid villages, and just swoop up our mates, and there weren’t many rules to prevent it. We still had rules against abuse and things like that, but it wasn’t nearly as consensual as it is now. Clans fought a lot of bloody wars, and we were constantly at each other's throats. Non-blooded members had their tusks filed and rounded. Not good. However, we slowly changed over time, adjusting and beginning to work together to create better working societies. We began to protect the vulnerable instead of punishing them. We’re generally pretty tall, and our beauty standards revolve around being strong and muscular, so we were still perceived as pretty barbaric. The stereotype of a hulking green orc coming in and destroying a village continued, and was perpetuated in the smear campaigns against us for a really long time. Even though it;s been 3000 years since the last bloody wars and raids, we were still stereotyped. I’ll link some scholarly articles about all of that below.”

(Mul’gash smiles sadly, shoulders hunched. He looks like a kicked puppy. He sniffles slightly, before bouncing back to his smiley normal self.)

“Alri, I think that’s pretty good for today! If you’ve got any questions, anything you think I missed, an idea for a future video, or you just wanna say hi, leave a comment below! Tune in next time, for my review of the new orcish rom-com, “Of tusks and roses”! See y’all later, BAH-BYE!”

(He waves in a huge arc, talking so fast and so excitedly his words are spilling over one another. He practically falls off the bed in his excitement, before the video cuts out.)


End file.
